Golden State Warriors star Jonathan Kuminga has been a name hot on the lips of most people in the NBA circle in recent weeks, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Bill Simmons, speaking on his podcast explored a theory about the Kuminga hype and why it might be happening.
The Warriors currently sit fifth in the Western Conference with a 14-9 record, which for a franchise who have won four championships since 2015 isn’t exactly great.
LeBron James has been linked with a trade to the Warriors, as has Jimmy Butler in the last few days. These star names are potentially being touted as the type of player that can help the Warriors fight for another championship this year.
However, bringing these stars in will come at a cost. Kuminga has suddenly become a regular starter for Golden State and Simmons has a theory on why this might be.
There was little talk about 22-year-old Kuminga until the last few weeks, and now suddenly he is being spoken about in glowing terms by the Warriors.
Kuminga’s playing time has increased exponentially, and Draymond Green seems happy to sit on the bench, which is odd.
There is no doubt Kuminga has taken his opportunity though and scored 33 points in the recent win over the Houston Rockets.
His performances have even led to former NBA star Danny Green labelling Kuminga as the next Warriors star.
However, the pushing of Kuminga has led Simmons to question why.
Speaking on his podcast, ‘the Bill Simmons Podcast’, he said: “I’m not just a body language guy but I’m also the trade detective and I did notice this weekend they’re all of a sudden pushing Kuminga. They’re putting him in the starting lineup and Draymond Green’s like ‘You can have my spot.”
Simmonds continued to highlight his theory over the recent lauding of their youngster.
He said: “To me, there’s a lot of red flags, it’s like what are you guys doing, it almost feels like you’re trying to showcase Kuminga for somebody.”
If Simmons’ predictions are true, that the Warriors will use Kuminga as a broker in a deal to sign LeBron or Butler, it’s worth comparing some key stats.
Age cannot be ignored in these potential trades. Kuminga is still just 22, while LeBron is 39 and Butler is 35. If the Warriors do use Kuminga it indicates a short-term win-now policy.
| LeBron | Butler | Kuminga | |
| Points | 23 | 19 | 15 |
| Rebounds | 8 | 5.4 | 4.3 |
| Assists | 9.1 | 4.8 | 1.8 |
While the stats still show that Kuminga is some way off dropping the numbers that Butler and LeBron can it’s worth noting that he is averaging considerably fewer minutes than both this season.
Kuminga is a star for the future, but it appears Golden State want to get Draymond Green and Steph Curry another championship quickly.
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